University of North Carolina Athletics
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UNC Falls To No. 2 Florida In Final Regular Season Meet
March 12, 2016 | Women's Gymnastics
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The North Carolina gymnastics team concluded the 2016 regular season on Friday evening with a matchup against No. 2 Florida in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center. The highly talented Gator team defeated the Tar Heels, 198.050-193.725, on their Senior Night. Morgan Lane's performance highlighted the competition, as she set career-bests on the balance beam (9.950) and all-around (39.350).
“The highlight of the meet was Morgan Lane's personal best on beam and she [winning] the event,” said UNC head coach Derek Galvin. “That is quite the accomplishment. Florida has some girls that have been competing really well in that event.”
Lane scored a career-best score of 39.350 in the all-around competition to take fourth place. This was Lane's seventh consecutive all-around score higher than 39.000. Madison Nettles, in her first appearance in the all-around since Feb. 6 in Chapel Hill, N.C., notched a score of 38.425 to take fifth place. Christina Pheil took sixth place with a score of 38.375, while Lexi Cappalli scored a 38.025 to finish in seventh place.
Due to persistent injuries to several gymnasts, North Carolina only had five gymnasts in the lineup on two of the fgour apparatuses – vault and floor. Although there was minimal room for error, the Tar Heels managed to overcome significant adversity and post a solid team performance against a talented team.
For the third consecutive week, Sarah Peterson did not compete, while Kaitlynn Hedelund was only able to participate on two apparatuses – bars and beam.
“It was a great atmosphere. Attendance [tonight] was over 7,000 people. They were a really good crowd. They cheered for Florida of course, but they cheered for our team too,” said Galvin.
UNC began the competition on the uneven bars, and the team notched a score of 48.450. Hedelund and Lane both had scores of 9.800 to tie for seventh place among all competitors. Josselyn Mackey took ninth place with a score of 9.750 for the Tar Heels. Madison Nettles scored a 9.675, which tied her season-best that was set on Feb. 19 in Washington, D.C. In addition, Pheil had a score of 9.425 on the bars.
North Carolina next competed on the vault, where the team posted a score of 48.275. Nettles led the Tar Heels with a team best score of 9.775 on the apparatus to tie for sixth place with Alicia Boren of Florida. This tied her career-best score, which was set on Jan. 30 against George Washington. Lane notched a score of 9.750 to earn an eighth place finish for the Tar Heels. Cappalli earned ninth place on the bars with a season-best score of 9.725. Pheil had a season-best score of 9.550 to take 10th place, while Lauren Weisel added a 9.475 for UNC.
On the floor exercise, the Tar Heels notched a score of 48.350. Lane led the team with a score of 9.850, which earned her a tie for fifth place with Ericha Fassbender of Florida. Pheil scored a 9.800 to take seventh place among all competitors. Weisel and Cappalli both had scores of 9.675 to tie for seventh place on the apparatus. Additionally, Nettles had a score of 9.350 for the Tar Heels.
North Carolina finished up the competition on the balance beam, which proved to be the Tar Heels' strongest apparatus of Friday evening. The team notched a score of 48.650 on the beam. Lane scored a career-best of 9.950 to take first place on the event. Her previous career-best on the beam was 9.875, which was first set on Feb. 28, 2015 at Pittsburgh. Hedelund notched a score of 9.750 to tie for seventh place with the Gators' Ericha Fassbender. Mackey had a 9.725 to finish in ninth place among all competitors. Nettles earned a 10th place with a score of 9.625 for the Tar Heels. In addition, Pheil added a season-best score of 9.600 for UNC.
“Overall, I was pleased with how the team competed [tonight],” said Galvin. “Hopefully this will give us momentum headed into the EAGL Championships.”
North Carolina will conclude the 2016 season at the EAGL Championships in Pittsburgh, Pa. on Saturday, March 19. The competition is set to begin at 2 p.m. in Fitzgerald Field House.
Players Mentioned
